Make the Dough

1. Dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a mixing bowl. Next, pour in the flour, then the salt, and lard.
2. If you’re using a stand mixer, stir everything together with the dough hook briefly to make a rough dough, and then knead the dough on low speed until it is elastic and forms a ball around the hook–about 2-3 minutes.
3. If you’re mixing by hand, next stir all the ingredients together with a spoon to form a rough dough. From there, turn out the dough onto a work surface and knead the dough until it is smooth–about 5 minutes.
4. Cover the dough to rest and rise for 1 hour.
   

Make the Dough Ropes

1. Turn out the dough onto a work surface and divide it into 8 pieces.
   
2. Roll each piece into a rope of about 12″ long. Try your best to keep the rope the same diameter down the length; do not taper the ends.
3. Line 2 sheet pans with silicone mats. Set the pretzel ropes to rest in the fridge uncovered for 30 minutes on one of the sheet trays.
   

Preheat the Oven

1. Just before the 30 minutes are up, preheat the oven to 425 F (220 C).

Boil the Pretzel Ropes

1. Boil the water for the baking soda solution in a large nonstick skillet. Add in the baking soda, whisking until the baking soda dissolves. Reduce the heat to a simmer. Have a clean kitchen towel right next to the stove, and your baking sheet with the silicone mat next to that. Carefully lower 2 or 3 ropes into the water, boiling them for about 30 seconds on each side. Use two large spatulas to remove each rope, placing them on the kitchen towel. Repeat for the rest of the ropes.
   

Cut the Pretzel Bites

1. Cut each rope into roughly 1″ pieces with a bench scraper

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   or a pair of kitchen scissors

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   . Scatter the pretzel bites on the 2 lined baking sheets.

Bake

1. Bake the pretzel bites for 12-15 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through baking.
2. The bites should be deep golden brown and the surface will bounce back when you touch them.
   

Add Butter and Flavoring

1. Immediately after baking, toss them in melted butter in a bowl and sprinkle them with your flavoring of choice.